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A mother of a 3rd grader in Belton, Texas wants school officials to attend diversity training after her daughter’s hair was called “unacceptable.”

Marian Reed said an assistant principal at Tarver Elementary School took her child out of gym class and said she would have to go home because the hair was unacceptable.

“She cried and said no one was going to want to be her friend because her hair was not as pretty as the assistant principal’s,” Reed said. “And, as a parent, that’s heartbreaking because that’s just what God naturally gave her.”

Reed said her daughter’s hair was in afro-puffs pony tails, but the school called it a faux hawk, which is against their dress code.

“It wasn’t in a mohawk,” Reed said, “It’s not shaved on the side or anything. She was a little girl being 9 years old.”

Reed also said her daughter has worn the same hairstyle when her hair was in synthetic braids, but the school never complained.

“I don’t believe that it was intended to be racial,” Reed said. “But, I think, the district as a whole may need some cultural diversity training.”

Charla Trejo, the executive director of campus leadership, said the school was just enforcing the dress code and being consistent.

“We had an assistant principal call a parent and make them aware of the dress code issue,” Trejo said. “And then just try to resolve that by asking them to take care of that.”